The whispers of the inner and outer worlds: the dialogue between the field and the theater audience in "The Human Voice"

Before Pedro Almodóvar filmed (The Human Voice, 2020), there were many stage versions adapted from the original work-(Jean Cocteau)'s one-act play "The Human Voice" of the same name. On the other hand, Almodovar tried to use short films as the medium to break away from the way of watching stage plays, trying to use movie vocabulary to describe the new "The Human Voice". This adaptation from the film media on the one hand brings a special way of viewing the work; on the other hand, it puts the encounter of the protagonist in the film into a more complex, or highly intertextual context with the field, space, and even the audience. middle.

Phantom return

Obviously, whether it is the timing of the launch of "The Human Voice", the method of filming and compilation, or the arrangement of the lens language in the film, it is highly implied that this work is related to the current epidemic that is raging around the world. Starting from this, perhaps the audience can temporarily put aside the context of the original work and regard Almodovar's version of "The Human Voice" as an alternative interpretation of the organic growth of the text. When watching, the audience seems to be invited into a 30-minute walk in a special space of reality and fiction. Here, we may be able to quickly deviate from the visual observation-sensory center of gravity, and pay more attention to how the other senses or bodies other than the eyes have an intertextual relationship with the short film. In terms of space, except for the protagonist at the beginning—and the only protagonist—(Tilda Swinton) shopping in the mall, the rest of the time the story takes place in a small house in an empty studio. The lens has no intention to obscure the relationship between the studio, the cabin, and the outside world. It has repeatedly brought the relationship between the three in space, from small to large; from virtual to reality (or nothing is the reality in the movie); from extreme tension to coldness, We can find that the movie handles this part of the relationship and gives the audience a lot of room for interpretation. Such a special space for discussion liberates various adaptations/derivatives that used to be mainly stage plays, and uses the special language of the film to "construct reality", so that the whole work leaves the text itself, and then to the outside world, that is, theaters, audiences, and even theaters. Real dialogue outside. In this way, we may be able to expand a horizontal axis, using space as a measure, the switching and dialogue of the three heterogeneous fields in the movie are projected into reality, drawing out another spirally intertwined double-line structure.

In this special structure, the physical experience is constantly called, and the audience is out of the home state caused by the epidemic at that moment, and stays in the outside world for a short time (or watching this short film is also a short stay), echoing the shopping bridge at the beginning of the film Segments are regarded as the same kind of transient state; the film constructs a half-hour simulacrum for us in the real world on the outside, while mediating three kinds of spaces on the inside, it constructs a special image of Tida wandering between the real and the fiction. And perhaps we should not only consider the movie itself, but also include the physical experience of leaving the individual from home, marching into the world, and going to the theater. My question at this time is:

"As of the end of the movie, what have I experienced today?"

Such questions brought us (successfully) into this work, and all the bridges that seemed to be subscribed to the narrative were resurrected. For example, Tida's various movie DVDs (including "Kill Bill: Volume 1", "Phantom Thread", "Shoplifters", etc. lined up on the table in the living room are just like choosing movies online during our stay at home. It just happens to be found on the stream), this bridge segment doubles the experience of the movie character and the real audience. Or Tida walks hysterically in various spaces in the cabin, and the bridge section also reflects the anxiety of the movie characters and the restlessness of the audience during their stay at home.

Whispers in the ear

In addition, in the plot, Tida plays a neurotic woman who is facing emotional problems. There is no need to say anything about the acting part. Tida has already proven her strength through many past works. With Tida's excellent acting skills, the audience can once again intervene in the film with different physical experiences, forming the intertextual relationship mentioned above. Starting with the mental state, the film draws a huge space with monologue lines, spatial scheduling and the tension of the actors’ performance; in this space, the blankness of the film's narrative—the invisible lover—provides space for the audience to try Taking the mental state integrated in the current special period due to the epidemic or other reasons as the object of sympathy, the physical experience of synesthesia is extended: the state of being forced to stay at home for a long time makes certain anxiety and restless moods continue to rise, which is reflected in various Physical behavior. It's like Tida walking in the room, walking in a daze, or even hacking clothes with an axe due to the dual factors of emotion and her own mental state. Her various behaviors highly reflect our recent daily life: perhaps constantly staring at the computer in a daze, I move around unconsciously in various spaces in the home...

In other words, there have been two kinds of intertextual relationships between movies and audiences. We can almost be sure that "The Human Voice" has already surpassed the tension of certain female monologues and emotional expressions that the original intended to emphasize or present (even if Tida is in This aspect is still very good), leading the audience to a more intertwined field. When we turned our attention to the end of the work, Tida burned the hut and refused to have any relationship with the lover at the end of the phone and the current life state. Such a devastating move surpassed the climax of the narrative arrangement of the text and the original work itself ( Turn and reunite), once again have a positive dialogue with the audience. As far as the text itself is concerned, the act of burning down the house is like an announcement to the interlaced style of reality and fiction that has been continuously paved in front. I, as the protagonist, is tired of running in that high emotional field, resolutely disconnecting all the connections between reality and fiction. And such an announcement penetrates the screen, like whispering in the ears of the audience, providing a certain drive to break the status quo and encouraging the audience to challenge the current stagnation of reality.

Chronological phenomenon

Different from the version that was adapted to the movie in the past, directed by (Ted Kotcheff) and starring (Ingrid Bergman) in 1966, Bergman's performance mostly deals with the emotional portrayal and performance of the female monologue in the original script, and meticulously performs the original characters. . To say that the work is beyond the meaning of the original work, perhaps Bergman's own actual experience can have a subtle relationship with the text. The Almodovar version of "The Human Voice" uses lens language, scene scheduling, and overall color narrative (the symbolic Almodovar-style vivid color) to draw meaning beyond the inner world of the text, and successfully creates a unique new version. . The tension created by this work is attributed to the combination of Almodovar and Tidas Winton. The bold visual vocabulary of the former meets the precise performance of the latter, which will hit a new expression style. In the future, they can collaborate again to create More outstanding works.